LIQHTS  ^ 
AKm  LIFE. 


By  C.  A.  SIMONDS. 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES 

OF 

ARMY  LIFE 

FROM  1861-64, 


BY  c.  -A..  si:is^onNri3S, 

LATE  OF  THE 


llTH  U.  S.  INFANTRY 


THE  C.  A.  J. 


ATHOL,  MASS. 
WATERMAN  PRINTING 
1894- 


HOUSE. 


DEDICATED  TO  MY  CHILDREN, 

IDA  ESTELLA   (SIMONDS)  MERRIAM 

AND 

LEON  MELVILLE  SIMONDS. 
February  14,  1894. 


C.  A.  SIMONDS. 


PREFACE. 


Thinking  it  would  be  of  interest  to  my  children 
to  know  something  of  the  lights  and  shades  of  my 
army  life  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  from 
Oct.  3d,  1 861,  to  Oct.  3d,  1864,  I  write  the  tol- 
lowing  sketch.  While  I  cannot  express  with  the 
pen  the  hardships  which  we  experienced  during 
those  years,  I  have  written  these  facts  that  those 
who  read  them  may  more  clearly  comprehend  the 
trials  of  army  life. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

C.  A.  SIMONDS. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/lightsshadesofarOOsimo 


In  1861,  the  I2th  clay  of  April,  at  four  and 
one-half  o'clock  in  the  morning,  General  Beau- 
regard, in  command  of  the  Confederate  forces 
around  Charleston,  fired  the  first  cannon  shot  on 
Fort  Sumpter,  Charleston  Harbor,  S.  C,  wherein 
was  Major  Anderson  and  his  small  force  of  Union 
troops.  The  affair  caused  intense  excitement 
throughout  the  entire  Northern,  Western  and 
Eastern  States,  also  the  eleven  Confederate  States. 

I  assisted  my  father  during  the  month  of  April  in 
laying  the  foundation  of  the  Methodist  Church  in 
Athol.  To  procure  desirable  rocks  for  that  purpose 
(which  lay  in  the  bed  of  Millers  River  near  by) , 
we  worked  in  the  water  considerably  for  three 
days,  which  caused  a  lameness  in  my  ankle  dis- 
abling me  for  work  nearly  all  summer. 

In  August,  1 861 ,  my  brother  William,  with  John 
and  Joseph  Nickerson,  enlisted  into  the  iithU.  S. 
Infantry,  and  had  it  not  been  for  my  lameness  I 
should  have  gone  with  them.  In  September  I 
commenced  to  attend  the  High  school  in  Athol. 
The  excitement  of  the  war  was  riuming  very  high, 
and  nearly  every  pleasant  evening  after  school  a 
citijen  by  the  name  of  Charles  Orcutt  would  drill 
the  young  men  in  marching  and  other  military 


6 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


movements  In  the  meantime  my  lameness  great- 
ly improved,  but  I  was  far  from  being  well. 

I  write  these  preliminary  statements  as  they  are 
so  intimately  connected  with  my  enlistment  into 
the  service. 

The  3d  day  of  October,  1861,  I  enlisted  into 
the  nth  U.  S.  Infantry.  A  lieutenant  of  that 
regiment  had  a  recruiting  office  at  the  Summit 
House.  As  I  was  enlisted  as  a  musician  in  the 
field  music  for  three  years,  I  was  assigned  to  Com- 
pany G.  I  was  required  to  pass  a  rigid  inspection. 
We  were  taken  into  the  Summit  hall  (75  feet  long) 
there  removed  our  clothing,  then  asked  to  run  the 
length  of  the  hall  and  return  as  fast  as  possible. 
This  was  done  to  test  our  wind  and  show  our 
limbs.  I  had  not  fully  recovered  from  my  lame- 
ness, but  said  nothing  about  it  to  the  officer,  but 
just  got  "right  up  on  my  muscle""  and  ran  so  fleetly 
that  nothing  wrong  was  detected.  I  was  then 
given  the  liberty  to  go  to  my  home  and  to  wait 
orders  to  report  to  the  office. 

On  the  7th  of  October,  Willard  Twitchell  and 
Ruel  Nickerson  enlisted  for  the  same  regiment. 
On  the  following  day  we  were  ordered  to  report, 
prepared  to  go  to  the  headquarters  of  the  nth  Infan- 
try, which  was  at  Fort  Independence,  Boston  Har- 
bor, 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  October  I  bade 
my  father,   mother,  brothers  and  sisters  "good 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


7 


bye''  amidst  many  tears,  and  took  the  train  for 
Boston,  arriving  there  about  ii  o'clock,  and  for 
the  first  time  in  my  life  saw  a  real  vessel,  which 
was  a  very  wonderful  sight  to  a  country  boy  of 
nineteen  years  of  age.  We  were  conducted  to  27 
Sudbury  street,  which  was  the  regimental  head- 
quarters in  the  city.  As  I  was  rath.er  shy  lest  I 
might  get  lost  in  the  great  city,  I  ventured  one 
square  out  then  returned,  then  took  in  two.  and  so 
on  until  I  felt  quite  at  home.  Ruel  Nickerson  had 
more  confidence  in  himself,  and  remarked  that  he 
could  go  where  he  pleased  and  return  all  right. 
Shortly  after  dinner  he  started  out  for  himself ;  he 
was  gone  until  late  in  the  clay,  when  Comrade 
Twitchell  and  myself  started  out  in  search.  After 
traveling  an  hour  we  found  him.  He  was  entirely 
lost  and  greatly  rejoiced  to  meet  us.  We  returned 
to  our  quarters. 

In  the  evening  we  partook  of  our  first  army  ra- 
tions, which  consisted  of  one  thick  piece  of  bread 
(no  butter) ,  a  mug  of  coffee  (no  milk) .  We 
thought  it  a  "big  jump"  from  our  home  fare.  We 
retired  at  night  into  soldiers'  quarters  ;  a  straw  bed 
and  blanket.  The  noise  of  the  market  wagons 
and  the  yawling  of  cats  in  the  back  yards  caused  a 
sleepless  night. 

The  following  morning  we  took  the  boat  at 
Commercial  Wharf  for  Fort  Independence.  For 
our  first  army  dinner  we  had  a  soup  of  boiled  rice. 


8  LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


potatoes,  onions,  and  almost  everything  else 
boiled  together.  That  so  went  against  me  that  I 
thought  it  about  time  to  be  a  little  homesick.  I 
soon  rallied  from  that  and  "went  in"  v/ith  the  rest 
of  the  soldiers.  In  the  afternoon  the  companies 
were  out  on  drill,  all  in  blue  uniforms,  and  I  had 
to  look  several  moments  before  I  could  see  my 
brother  William  who  was  in  the  ranks,  as  all  sol- 
diers looked  alike  to  me  at  that  time. 

On  the  morning  of  the  loth  of  October  we  were 
ordered  to  the  quartermaster's  quarters  to  draw 
army  clothing,  which  took  the  place  of  our  citizen's 
clothes  for  three  years.  I  also  had  a  bugle  issued 
to  me  at  that  time,  and  was  attached  to  Company 
G,  iith  U.  S.  Infantry,  ist  Brigade,  2d  Division, 
5th  Army  Corps.  I  was  subject  to  the  orders  and 
teaching  of  the  Drum  Major,  W.  E.  Giddings, 
who  took  his  drummers,  fifers  and  buglers  to  the 
fartherest  corner  of  the  Fort  and  required  us  to 
practice  two  hours  in  the  forenoon  and  the  same  in 
the  afternoon.  As  I  was  exceedingly  anxious  to 
learn  the  regimental  calls  on  the  bugle,  I  practiced 
six  hours  each  day,  until  I  had  them  learned, 
which  required  several  months'  time.  I  also  took 
my  violin  to  the  Fort,  and  spent  many  pleasant 
evening  hours  with  it. 

In  the  month  of  November,  1861,  there  were 
five  companies  ordered  to  Perry ville,  Md. — Com- 
panies A,  B,  C,  D,  G.     We  were  camped  in  A 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE.  9 


tents  for  a  short  time  while  barraclvs  were  being 
built  for  winter  quarters,  each  company  having  a 
building  which  was  warmed  with  coal  They  were 
built  on  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  where 
it  empties  into  the  Chesapeake  Bay — a  very  beauti- 
ful location.  The  work  of  these  companies  was  to 
guard  3000  government  mules,  which  were  being 
trained  to  the  harness  and  wagon,  for  service  in 
the  field.  On  Thanksgiving  Day  each  Captain 
treated  his  company  (100  men)  to  a  Thanksgiving 
dinner,  which  was  cooked  in  Harve-de-Grace,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  ferried  across  to 
our  quarters.  It  consisted  of  roast  geese,  pud- 
dings, preserves,  pies,  etc.  It  was  most  highly 
appreciated  by  all,  it  being  the  last  one  we  enjoyed 
for  three  years. 

About  this  time  I  was  transferred  from  Company 
G  to  Company  D,  as  they  had  no  bugler,  a  great 
pleasure  to  me,  as  brother  William  belonged  to 
that  company.  During  the  winter  Captain  Chip- 
man  of  Company  D  held  Episcopal  services,  the 
only  religious  services  we  had  an  opportunity  to 
enjoy  while  in  the  service.  One  man  in  Company 
G  became  so  dirty  and  lousy  during  our  encamp- 
ment here  that  the  officers  ordered  three  men  to 
take  him  to  the  river  and  scrub  him  with  brooms, 
which  they  did.  One  of  the  amusements  of  the 
winter  was  snowballing.  On  one  occasion  Com- 
panies 1)  cuul  G  were  arrayed  against  each  other. 


lO         LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


After  a  long  contest  it  narrowed  clown  to  one  man 
from  Company  G  and  myself  of  Company  D,  and 
after  a  few  moments  the  two  boys  clinched  each 
other.  Company  G  went  to  the  bottom  and  had 
his  face  washed  with  snow.  A  big  shout  went 
up  from  Company  D,  which  ended  a  friendly 
struggle. 

During  the  first  days  of  March  brother  William 
was  sent  to  the  regimental  hospital  sick  with 
the  measles.  Three  day  later  I  came  down  with 
them,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  kindness  of  our 
company  cook,  Willard  Twitchell.  who  took  meas- 
ures to  bring  them  out  (as  the  doctor  told  me  I 
hadnU  got  the  measles),  and  gave  me  great  care 
for  three  days,  they  probably  would  have  proved 
fatal.  The  ]-egiment  was  ordered  to  Washington 
during  my  sickness  and  I  was  left  at  the  hospital 
with  others  under  command  of  a  sergeant.  In  five 
days  we  were  ordered  to  join  our  regiment  at 
Washington,  but  when  we  arrived  there  they  had 
gone  on  to  Alexandria,  Va.  We  were  obliged  to 
camp  for  three  days  on  a  hill  (where  now  stands 
the  soldiers'  home)  in  our  "dog"  tents,  waiting 
for  transportation  down  the  Potomac  to  our  regi- 
ment. When  we  arrived  there  it  was  very  cold, 
and  as  we  had  not  fully  recovered  from  our  sick- 
ness, we  were  allowed  to  sleep  in  a  covered  army 
wagon.  We  suffered  exceedingly  from  the  cold,  but 
after  a  few  weeks  we  were  entirely  restored  to  health. 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE.  II 


In  the  first  days  of  April,  1862,  our  regiment, 
with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  took  transporta- 
tion for  F'ortress  Monroe  and  the  Peninsular  Cam- 
paign. Seven  large  steamer  loads  of  soldiers, 
horses  and  artillery  in  a  row  up  the  Chespeake 
Bay,  made  a  beautiful  sight  to  behold.  In  the 
waters  of  Fortress  Monroe  I  first  saw  the  famous 
Monitor,  and  thought  it  was  a  hogshead  in  the 
water  until  I  learned  it  was  the  Monitor. 

We  landed  in  the  early  days  of  April,  and 
started  on  our  long  march  with  about  seventy-five 
pounds  weight  of  luggage.  After  traveling  two 
and  one-half  miles  I  saw  the  first  effects  of  war. 

The  Confederates  had  burned  the  beautiful  old 
town  of  Hampton  ;  not  a  chimney  left  standing. 
We  marched  on  to  Yorktown  where  the  enemy  was 
strongly  fortified,  and  remained  there  about  three 
weeks.  McClellan  laid  siege  to  the  place,  and  one 
dark  night  a  company  of  men  were  ordered  to 
plant  a  siege  gun  near  the  enemy's  works  and 
throw  up  earthworks  in  front  of  it.  I  was  detailed 
as  bugler  to  give  any  necessary  alarm,  and  we  were 
so  near  the  enemy  that  we  were  ordered  not  to 
speak  aloud.  About  one  o'clock  in  the  night  one 
of  our  mules  brayed,  and  almost  immediately  a 
cannon  shell  was  thrown  by  the  enemy,  passing 
over  our  heads  and  bursting  quite  a  distance  from 
us,  doing  no  damage.  This  was  the  first  shot  that 
I  had  heard  from  the  enemy.     The  next  morning 


12         LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


we  found  the  Rebels  had  evacuated  Yorktown,  and 
the  following  day  we  were  ordered  to  break  camp 
not  to  retiun,  taking  all  our  traps  and  two  days' 
rations.  Torpedoes  were  buried  in  the  road  for 
the  purpose  of  killing  our  troops,  but  very  few  were 
killed,  as  we  took  the  roadside.  We  marched 
through  deep  mud  and  intense  heat  a  distance  of 
twelve  miles  to  Williamsburg,  a  strongly  fortified 
place,  where  our  troops  defeated  the  "Rebs'''  the 
day  before.  On  account  of  the  heat,  thh-st  and  my 
heavy  pack  I  was  obliged  to  fall  out  of  the  ranks  to 
rest,  the  first  and  only  time  during  my  three  years, 
service.  My  brigade  went  about  two  miles  farther 
and  camped  for  the  night.  I  overtook  my  regi- 
ment the  next  morning,  fully  persuaded  that  it  was 
easier  to  keep  up  than  to  catch  up.  We  continued 
our  march  through  mud  until  we  came  to  a  heavy 
piece  of  timber  where  the  Rebels  had  built  log 
houses,  which  they  were  obliged  to  evacuate.  As 
we  went  into  camp  the  woods  were  full  of  hogs 
and  pigs  of  all  ages,  and  we  commenced  killing 
them  with  pistols  and  swords  until  the  bullets  flew 
so  thick  that  it  became  dangerous  for  men.  The 
farmers  entered  complaint  to  the  officers  and  we 
were  ordered  to  stop  killing,  but  not  until  we  had 
a  good  supply  of  pork.  Our  rations  were  all  used 
and  the  teams  stuck  in  the  mud  three  miles  to  the 
rear,  but  during  the  evening  my  company  cook, 
Willard  Twitch  ell,  came  into  camp  bearing  a  box 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE.  1 3 


of  hardtack-  upon  his  back  which  weighed  about 
seventy-five  pounds.  A  big  shout  went  up  from 
his  company  (D).  We  found  a  barn  full  of  sweet 
potatoes,  and  helping  ourselves,  make  a  pork  soup 
without  salt,  which  made  many  ot  the  boys  sick 
for  a  few  hours.  Fortunately  I  had  a  little  salt. 
The  teams  came  up  in  two  days,  and  we  drew  three 
days  rations  and  marched  for  several  days  until  we 
arrived  at  a  camping  ground  near  Chickahominy 
Swamp,  where  we  remained  several  weeks. 

From  this  camp,  brother  William  and  myself 
mailed  $42  in  gold  to  our  parents  in  Athol,  Mass., 
which  never  reached  home.  Together,  we  sent 
more  than  $300  home  during  our  enlistment. 

While  we  were  in  camp  at  this  place,  one  of  our 
men  deserted  into  the  Confederate  lines,  and  with- 
in a  very  few  hours  after  he  left,  a  cannon  shot 
was  fired  directly  into  our  camp  by  the  enemy. 
The  same  afternoon  we  started  on  a  reconnoitering 
expedition  to  Hanover  Court  House.  On  the  22d 
or  23d  of  June,  1862,  we  camped  on  the  ground 
for  the  night,  with  a  single  blanket  over  us,  as  it 
was  very  warm.  About  midnight  the  entire  camp 
awoke  nearly  frozen,  on  account  of  a  very  heavy 
cold  fog  coming  over  us,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
night  was  spent  in  burning  big  fires.  The  follow- 
ing day  we  returned  to  our  old  campground,  where 
we  remained  until  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  June, 
1862,  when  we  started  on  the  seven  days  retreat 


14         LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


for  Harrison's  Landing,  near  the  James  River. 
About  ten  o'clock  that  morning  we  were  ordered  to 
stack  our  knapsacks  and  form  into  Hne  of  battle 
(our  first),  which  was  near  Gaines'  Mill.  The 
battle  commenced  about  eleven  o'clock,  but  our 
regiment  was  not  called  into  action  until  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  duty  of  all  musi- 
cians in  time  of  battle  was  to  follow,  pick  up  and 
care  for  the  wounded.  The  hospital  was  estab- 
lished at  a  large  farm  house.  The  first  wounded 
man  I  helped  carry  from  the  field  was  a  Confeder- 
ate from  a  South  Carolina  regiment.  As  the  bat- 
tle was  raging  a  pieee  of  shell  came  from  the  en- 
emy as  large  as  my  hand,  ticked  my  ear  and  tore 
the  bark  from  a  tree  against  which  I  was  standing. 
Our  troops  held  their  position  until  dark,  when  we 
continued  our  retreat.  We  never  saw  our  knap- 
sacks again,  and  consequently  lost  many  keep- 
sakes. 

During  our  retreat  the  entire  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac passed  over  one  very  narrow  road  through 
White  Oak  Swamp.  My  corps  passed  through  in 
the  night,  and  we  were  obliged  to  march  very 
slowly  and  halted  every  few  rods.  Incredible  as  it 
may  seem,  we  were  so  completely  exhausted  that 
men  actually  slept  standing,  leaning  their  heads 
upon  their  guns. 

After  marching  and  fighting  for  three  days  and 
nights  we  came  to  the  place  known  as  Malvern 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE.         1 5 


Hill,  arriving  there  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning 
of  July  1st,  1862.  We  were  formed  into  line  ot 
battle  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  to  support  a  battery. 
About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  enemy  fired 
the  first  cannon  shot  at  our  battery,  killing  one  of 
the  horses  within  ten  feet  of  me.  From  that 
through  the  remainder  of  the  day  a  most  terrific 
battle  was  fought,  and  many  thousands  of  men  were 
killed  on  both  sides.  About  six  o'clock,  the  same 
afternoon,  I  saw  one  of  the  most  inspiring  sights  of 
my  life.  The  enemy  were  moving  in  large  force 
in  our  front  and  our  reserve  corps  was  called  upon 
to  meet  them,  each  brigade's  band  leading  them 
into  position  playing  the  national  airs.  With  their 
colors  flying,  the  setting  sun  throwing  its  light  upon 
them  and  their  glittering  bayonets,  every  soldier 
was  inspired  to  fight  with  renewed  courage  lor  their 
dear  old  flag.  The  bands  retired  to  the  rear, 
when  our  army  made  it  so  hot  for  the  -'Rebs"  that 
they  fled  to  the  woods  not  to  return. 

Although  they  were  defeated  in  that  battle  we 
were  still  order&d  to  retreat  farther  down  the  river 
to  Harrison's  Landing,  where  we  arrived  July  3d. 
While  in  camp  here  I  laid  down  to  rest  on  the 
shady  side  of  my  tent  and  went  to  sleep.  The  sun 
shone  upon  me  so  hot  that  when  I  awoke  I  was  un- 
able to  stand,  and  was  very  sick  for  a  few  hours 
from  sunstroke.  The  only  event  which  occured  in 
my  experience  at  this  camp,  outside  of  our  routine 


1 6         LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


duties,  was  one  morning  the  orderly  sergeant  of 
our  company,  without  provocation,  struck  my 
brother  WiUiam  in  the  face  while  he  was  stooping 
Over.  Before  he  had  time  to  strike  him  the  second 
blow  I  clinched  him,  throwing  him  to  the  ground, 
and  held  him  there  until  another  sergeant  of  the 
company  ordered  me  to  let  him  up,  assuring  us 
protection.  In  the  meantime  the  captain  of  the 
company  was  notified  and  appeared  at  the  scene. 
After  learning  the  circumstances,  he  told  me 
he  hoped  nothing  of  the  kind  would  occur  again. 
He  put  the  sergeant  under  arrest,  who  was  court 
martialed  and  reduced  to  a  private  in  the  ranks. 
He  was  formerly  an  officer  in  the  English  army. 
He  deserted  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
which  was  the  last  I  ever  saw  of  liim. 

August  ist,  1862,  we  went  from  Harrison's 
Landing  to  Newport  News.  At  this  place  the 
Rebel  gunboat  Merrimac  sunk  the  Cumberland 
and  Congress,  Union  gunboats.  On  one  of  these 
boats,  John  Humphrey,  a  schoolmate,  was  cut  in 
two  by  a  cannon  ball. 

From  this  place  we  took  transports  to  Acquia 
Creek,  where  we  remained  only  a  few  days.  While 
here  a  few  darkies  went  in  bathing  close  by  our 
camp,  and  all  at  once  we  heard  a  terrible  scream 
from  them  which  attracted  our  attention.  They 
were  making  for  the  shore,  and  a  little  way  from 
them  was  a  huge  serpent  coming  towards  them  at 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE,         1 7 


full  speed  Several  soldiers  took  clubs  and  met  it 
when  it  came  to  the  shore  and  killed  it.  It  was  a 
snake  six  feet  long  and  nearly  three  inches  in  di- 
ameter through  the  largest  part  of  his  body.  He* 
was  spotted  like  a  boa  constrictor,  and  was  said  to 
be  a  deadly  serpent. 

From  here  we  started  on  a  hard  march,  which 
■finally  brought  us  on  to  the  battlefield  of  the  sec- 
ond Bull  Run  battle.  Several  weeks  previous  to 
this,  my  brother  William  had  an  attack  of  the 
chronic  diarrhoea,  which  had  reduced  him  to  a 
very  low  state  of  health,  and  two  days  previous  to 
the  battle  he  was  so  poorly  that  his  captain  (Chip- 
man)  carried  his  musket  and  I  carried  his  cartridge 
box,  con  taming  sixty  rounds,  blanket,  etc.,  in  ad- 
dition to  my  own  load,  that  he  might  keep  up  with 
the  command  and  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  That  night  we  went  into  camp  and  smelled 
pennyroyal,  and  as  I  was  very  anxious  for  him,  I 
filled  my  quart  dish  and  steeping  the  herb,  very 
strong,  sweetened  it,  and  gave  him  to  drink  two  or 
three  doses.  From  that  he  commenced  to  recover 
and  the  second  day  went  into  battle,  and  never 
was  troubled  with  another  attack.  About  two 
o'clock  on  the  30th  day  of  August,  1862,  we  were 
drawn  up  in  line  of  battle.  The  enemy  fired  the 
first  shot,  a  cannon  ball,  that  afternoon,  and  in- 
stantly killed  the  two  right  hand  men  of  our  regi- 
ment.    The  band  was  but  a  very  few  feet  from 


4 

1 8         LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


them,  and  as  the  shell  burst,  many  of  our  instru- 
ments were  injured  by  the  giape  and  canister 
which  flew  in  all  directions.  The  battle  raged  un- 
''lil  evening,  when  the  entire  army  was  ordered  to 
retreat  to  the  defences  near  Washington,  or  Alex- 
andria and  Arlington  Heights.  The  night  of  our 
retreat  was  very  dark,  and  it  was  impossible  in  the 
confusion  for  the  different  regiments  to  keep  with 
their  own  colors.  We  were  also  separated  from 
ours,  but  continued  to  retreat  into  the  night  until 
we  arrived  at  Centerville,  where  1  bivouached  for 
the  night,  not  knowing  where  our  regiment  was. 
The  next  morning  I  awoke  and  found  our  colors 
but  a  short  distance  from  me.  with  a  very  small 
portion  of  the  regiment  with  them.  I  was  never 
more  rejoiced  to  see  my  beloved  mother  than  I  was 
to  find  the  dear  old  flag  of  our  regiment. 

From  Centerville  we  started  for  General  Lee's 
(Confederate)  army,  which  had  crossed  the  Poto- 
mac River  into  Maryland.  The  first  engagement 
with  the  enemy  was  at  South  Mountain,  and  al- 
though our  regiment  was  not  engaged  in  that  bat- 
tle, we  passed  over  the  battlefield  before  the 
wounded  were  all  gathered  up,  in  pursuit  of  the 
Rebel  army.  Here  I  saw  a  row  of  not  less  than 
three  hundred  dead  men,  who  had  been  gathered 
and  laid  side  by  side.  A  long  ditch  was  dug,  the 
bodies  placed  in  it,  their  blankets  thrown  over  their 
faces,  and  then  they  were  covered  with  earth.. 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


19 


This  was  the  usual  way  of  burying  the  dead.  I 
had  heard  a  great  deal  said  about  the  scanty  food 
the  Rebel  army  had.  As  I  passed  a  dead  soldier 
who  lay  by  the  side  of  the  road,  with  his  haver- 
sack by  his  side,  I  looked  into  it  and  found  noth- 
ing but  a  single  corn  cake  as  large  as  a  saucer  and 
one-fourth  of  an  inch  thick.  Evidently  it  was 
nothing  more  than  corn  meal  mixed  with  cold 
water,  and  cooked  on  coals.  The  soldier  lad  was 
not  more  than  fifteen  years  old.  This  was.  my 
only  experience  in  searching  dead  soldiers. 

This  battle  was  fought  September  14th,  1862. 
We  still  pressed  on  until  we  found  the  Confederate 
army  in  line  of  battle  at  Antietam  Creek,  Mary- 
land, where  a  fearful  battle  was  fought  September 
16  and  17,  1862,  when  the  Rebel  army  was  de- 
feated and  driven  back  into  Virginia.  Two  days 
later,  a  portion  of  our  division  (2d  Division,  5th 
Corps),  was  sent  across  the  Potomac  River  at  a 
ford  which  was  composed  ot  a  broad  ledge,  extend- 
ing entirely  across  the  river  which  was  one-half 
mile  wide,  with  the  water  nearly  waist  deep.  Af- 
ter advancing  about  two  miles  on  the  Virginia  side, 
we  came  upon  the  Rebels  in  ambush,  in  great 
force,  and  after  a  fierce  fight  we  were  obliged  to  re- 
cross  the  river.  During  the  fight  a  comrade  and 
myself  took  a  wounded  man  on  a  stretcher  and 
brought  him  across  the  river,  which  was  a  very 
tedious  task.  As  we  were  nearly  across,  my  helper 


20         LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


stepped  into  a  hole,  completely  wetting  the  wound- 
ed man,  whose  thigh  was  broken.  He  died  that 
evening  from  the  effects  ot  amputation. 

We  lay  in  camp  near  Shepardstown  several 
weeks  with  no  special  excitement  except  our  routine 
camp  duties. 

From  this  camp  we  went  to  Warrenton,  Virginia, 
arriving  there  November,  1862  in  a  drenching  rain. 
Everything  was  so  wet  that  it  seemed  for  a  time 
impossible  to  build  a  fire,  as  all  dry  wood  and 
fences  had  been  previously  burned  by  the  armies. 
As  I  was  determined  to  build  one  I  took  my 
hatchet,  cut  down  a  little  white  oak  as  large  as  a 
man's  thumb,  and  placing  it  on  a  rock,  I  pounded 
it  until  the  end  was  nearly  as  fine  as  hair  and  by 
touching  a  lighted  match  to  it,  it  burned  very  freely. 
This  was  one  of  the  many  devices  for  building  afire. 
We  were  at  this  place  but  a  few  days,  when  we 
started  under  General  Burnside  for  Fredricksburg. 
We  arrived  at  Falmouth  Heights,  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  Rappahannock  River,  w^iere  Gen.  Burnside 
was  obliged  to  bombard  the  city  in  order  to  lay  his 
pontoon  bridges  across  the  river.  He  fired  into  the 
city  with  one  hundred  and  seventy  nine  guns  all  one 
day,  which  set  the  city  on  fire  in  many  places.  It 
was  a  grand  but  fearful  sight.  The  next  day  we 
crossed  the -river,  the  enemy  having  fled  to  the 
heights  beyond,  leaving  most  of  their  household 
goods  but  many  of  them  were  taken.    I  sent  my 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE.         2  1 


mother  a  very  fine  table-cloth,  which  was  worth 
$8  00  at  that  time.  I  paid  $1.50  postage.  The 
most  miserable  night  I  ever  spent  was  in  trying  to 
sleep  on  a  feather  bed,  the  contrast  was  too  great. 
While  the  battle  was  raging  I  was  tearing  out  the 
pews  from  the  churches  preparing  them  for  hospitals. 
From  the  M.  E.  Church  I  sent  a  hymn  book  to  my 
mother,  who  has  it  now.  The  Confederate  Army 
was  so  thoroughly  entrenched  that  we  retreated  in 
the  night  across  the  river,  after  losing  many  lives 
and  nothing  gained  by  the  battle.  We  went  into 
camp  for  a  few  weeks  near  Falmouth,  where  I  was 
detailed  to  cook  for  Captain  Chipman  of  Company 
D.  I  received  good  instructions  from  the  doctor's 
cook,  who  was  a  professional  from  New  York.  We 
had  our  baked  biscuit,  pies,  cookies,  roast  meats, 
fish,  etc. 

From  this  camp  we  started  on  the  march  for  one 
of  the  fords  on  the  Rappahannock  River,  known  as 
Burnside''s  "stick  in  the  mud.""  We  marched  about 
thirty-six  hours  in  a  pouring  rain  and  when  we 
arrived  at  the  river  it  was  so  swollen  that  we  could 
not  ford  it,  consequently,  we  were  ordered  to  return, 
but  the  mud  was  so  deep  that  it  was  impossible  to 
get  our  artillery  back  over  the  roads.  As  we  were 
in  a  woody  country,  men  were  detailed  from  the 
whole  army  to  coduroy  the  roads,  which  was  done 
by  cutting  trees  from  three  to  five  inches  through 
and  laying  them  side  by  side  across  the  road. 


22         LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


This  was  done  for  several  miles  as  fast  as  the  horses 
could  walk.  We  returned  to  camp  and  remained 
there  through  the  winter.  Here  we  built  ourselves 
huts,  or  log  houses,  with  mud  chimneys,  which 
made  very  comfortable  quarters.  * 

In  April,  1863,  we  started  for  Chancellors ville. 
Our  corps  (the  fifth)  arrived  at  a  ford  on  the  Rap- 
idan  River  April  30th.  about  midnight.  It  was 
raining  fast,  and  the  water  in  the  river  where  we 
crossed  was  nearly  four  feet  deep.  Most  of  the 
troops  crossed  with  their  clothing  on,  but  our  band 
stripped  naked,  and  holding  their  knapsacks  above 
their  heads,  crossed  over.  The  stream  was  about 
two  hundred  feet  wide,  with  a  very  steep,  muddy 
bank  which  we  had  to  climb.  We  were  in  poor 
condition  to  dress,  nevertheless  we  did  so,  and 
camped  down  in  the  rain  and  waited  for  daylight. 
While  crossing  the  stream  the  cavalry  formed  a 
line  below  where  we  crossed,  to  catch  anyone  who 
might  lose  his  footing.  It  was  so  very  dark  that 
one  soldier  from  the  6th  U.  S.  Infantry  floated 
past  the  horses  and  was  drowned.  For  our  break- 
fast we  took  hardtack  and  coffee,  then  marched  un- 
til noon,  arriving  at  the  plantation  known  as  the 
Chancellor  House.  After  a  little  rest  our  division  v 
formed  in  line  of  battle.  At  this  place  I  saw  the 
8th  Pennsylvania  Cavalry  form  in  line  and  charge 
on  a  regiment  of  Rebel  infantry,  which  lay  behind 
a  stone  wall.     When  the  order  was  given,  the 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


23 


horses  ran  with  their  riders  on  their  backs  about 
three  hundred  yards  at  break-neck  speed.  The 
Rebels  fired  on  them,  but  the  horses  leaped  the 
wall  with  a  bound,  and  only  a  very  few  of  the 
"Rebs"  escaped.  Some  were  taken  prisoners  and 
others  were  killed.  That  night,  May  ist,  I  was 
detailed  as  bugler  to  go  on  picket  duty.  I  was 
placed  on  the  beat  with  my  brother  William  as 
picket.  About  midnight  we  heard  a  noise  as 
though  a  man  was  coming  through  the  brush  from 
the  Rebel  line  of  pickets.  William  gave  the  com- 
mand, "Who  comes  there?"  There  was  no  reply, 
but  the  noise  kept  coming  nearer.  Again  the  com- 
mand, and  no  reply.  I  was  just  about  ready  to 
give  the  bugle  alarm,  when  William  cried  out 
"nothing  but  a  hog."  May  2d.  in  the  afternoon, 
I  helped  throw  up  earthworks  for  defence  against 
the  enemy,  as  we  expected  an  attack  from  them, 
but  they  did  not  come.  We  camped  down  for  a 
night's  rest  at  nine  o'clock,  and  had  barely  laid 
our  heads  on  our  knapsacks,  when  the  general  call 
was  sounded  to  fall  in  and  support  the  iith  Corps, 
which  was  hard  pressed  by  the  enemy.  The  mu- 
sic department,  under  command  of  the  doctor,  es- 
tablished a  hospital  to  receive  and  care  for  the 
wounded.  The  day  following  we  received  word 
to  break  camp,  ready  to  retreat,  and  as  we  had  a 
big  supply  of  flour,  sugar,  tea  and  coffee,  which  we 
were  obliged  to  destroy,  I  made  a  big  lot  of  griddle 


/ 


24         LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


cakes  and  coffee  and  carried  them  to  brother  Wil- 
liam, who  was  at  the  front  behind'  breastworks- 
They  were  a  great  treat  to  him,  as  he  was  out  of 
rations  and  water.  Shortly  alter  this  we  retreated 
across  the  Rappahannock  River.  For  a  few  days 
we  lay  in  camp  with  no  special  excitement. 

About  the  25  th  of  June,  1863,  we  started  in 
pursuit  of  General  Lee's  Confederate  army,  which 
was  making  a  big  raid  in  Pennsylvania.  This  was  a 
forced  march  every  day  until  we  reached  the  battle- 
field of  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania.  The  incidents 
of  interest  which  we  call  to  mind  on  this  line  of 
march  was  when  we  came  to  a  very  large  black 
cherry  orchard,  both  sides  of  the  road  for  half  a 
mile  in  length.  We  had  strict  orders  not  to  pilfer 
the  country,  but  the  sight  was  so  tempting  to  the 
officers  that  we  were  given  the  privilege  of  picking 
cherries  five  minutes,  and  we  were  "all  in  it."  As 
we  were  resting  in  camp  for  a  few  hours  on  a  Sun- 
day morning,  the  Captain  of  Company  D  got  one 
of  the  boys  to  shave  his  face.  As  he  was  doing  so 
the  captain  remarked  that  that  was  the  last  time  he  . 
should  ever  be  shaved  as  he  would  be  dead  before 
next  Sunday.  He  was  shot  the  next  Thursday  in 
battle,  and  lived  but  a  few  moments.  As  we 
pressed  on  toward  the  battlefield  we  went  into 
camp  for  the  night.  We  had  hardly  got  our  coifee 
to  boiling  when  the  general  call  was  sounded  to 
fall  in.    Word  came  to  us  that  General  Reynolds 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE.  25 


of  the  1st  Corps  was  killed.  We  marched  fast 
until  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  rested  on  our 
knapsacks  in  a  church  yard  until  four  o'clock,  when 
we  started  again.  After  traveling  in  the  road  a 
short  time  we  took  to  cross-lots  through  woods, 
over  fences,  etc.,  and  about  seven  o'clock  arrived 
on  the  battlefield,  having  marched  more  than  forty 
miles  without  rest.  Still  we  were  greeted  with  a 
shout  and  called  fresh  troops.  Our  brigade  was 
formed  into  line  of  battle,  all  of  the  bands  falling 
back  to  the  rear  of  the  troops.  At  two  o'clock 
Friday  afternoon,  July  3,  1863,  without  doubt,  the 
fiercest  artillery  duel  ever  fought  on  land  occurred. 
The  Confederate  army  opened  fire  with  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven  cannon  and  the  Union 
army  with  as  many  many  more,  and  kept  up  a  con- 
tinuous firing  for  three  hours.  Then  came  a 
charge  from  the  enemy,  who  were  met  by  our 
artillery  and  infantry  with  such  a  terrific  slaughter 
that  they  retreated  in  great  disorder,  losing  many 
prisoners.  During  this  engagement  I  sat  in  an 
oak  tree  forty  feet  high,  where  I  saw  the  whole 
grand  but  terrible  conflict.  The  musical  depart- 
ment then  fell  back  about  a  mile,  and  established 
a  hospital  made  of  large  tents.  Saturday  morning, 
July  4th,  I  went  to  the  regiment  and  found  my 
brother  William  in  line  of  battle  at  the  foot  of 
Little  Round  Top  Mountain.  He  was  slightly 
wounded  three  times  the  day  before.     I  then  re- 


26         LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


turned  to  the  hospital,  where  I  helped  care  for  the 
wounded,  night  and  day,  for  two  weeks.  fOn  the 
evening  of  the  4th  of  July/-i863,  I  held  a  light  for 
the  surgeons  to  amputate  a  young  man's  leg,  which 
was  badly  shattered  above  the  knee.  The  poor 
boy  died  before  morning.^  ^After  two  weeks' of 
weary  watching  and  witnessing  many  sad  scenes, 
the  wounded  were  sent  to  dhferent  general  hos- 
pitals, and  we  started  for  our^ regiment, which  had 
followed  Lee's  army  into  Virginia.  We  first  went 
to  Baltimore,  Maryland,  where  we  had  to  wait  sev_ 
eral  days  for  transportation.  During  our  stay  in 
this  camp,  we  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  the  Bal- 
timore Water  Supply  Works,  also  the  fine  estate  of 
Mr.  McDonald,  who  then  owned  Flora  Temple, 
then  the  fastest  trotter  in  this  country  (2.18),  and 
also  several  others. 

We  joined  our  regiment  near  the  foot  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  where  rattlesnakes  were 
plenty.  We  moved  on  the  next  morning.  The 
remainder  of  the  summer  and  autumn  was  spent  in 
marching  and  countermarching,  on  account  of  the 
movements  of  the  enemy.  During  this  campaign 
there  were  two  features  of  interest  to  us  which  I 
will  mention.  Our  brigade  was  ordered  to  occupy 
Snicker's  Gap  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains.  A 
very  narrow  and  rough  road  led  us  to  the  top  of 
the  mountain,  where  we  could  look  a  long  distance 
up  the  famous  Shenandoah  Valley,     There  was 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE.  27 


one  solitary  old  house,  in  which  an  old  gentleman 
and  his  wife  lived.  They  had  several  tat  hogs  and 
a  big  bloodhound  dog,  and  while  we  were  there  he 
butchered  the  hogs.  He  would  let  a  hog  out  of 
the  pen,  which  would  run  until  the  dog  would 
catch  him  by  the  nose  and  hold  him  until  his  mas- 
ter came  up  and  stuck  it,  holding  him  until  the  hog 
died. 

In  the  fall  of  1863,  a  soldier  of  my  company  (D) 
who  deserted  from  the  Rebel  army  and  joined  ours, 
and  then  deserted  from  ours  several  times  and  took 
bounties  each  time,  was  tried  by  courtmartial  and 
sentenced  to  be  shot  dead.  It  was  proven  in  his 
trial  that  while  he  was  guarding  conscript  soldiers 
from  Boston  to  Washington,  that  he  was  bribed  by 
one  of  them  for  ten  dollars,  to  let  him  go  while 
passing  through  Baltimore.  After  he  had  gone  a 
short  distance  from  the  car,  he  fired  and  killed 
him.  When  the  time  came  for  execution,  our 
brigade  formed  three  sides  of  a  square  ;  on  the 
open  side  was  the  grave  and  coffin.  He  was  re- 
quired to  follow  his  coffin,  which  was  carried  on 
the  shoulders  of  four  soldiers,  around  the  entire 
square,  followed  by  a  guard,  finally  taking  his  seat 
on  the  end  of  the  coffin.  Twelve  soldiers  were 
then  drawn  up  into  line,  each  having  a  rifle  hand- 
ed to  him.  Six  of  them  were  loaded  with  bullets 
and  six  with  blank  cartridges.  They  were  then 
ordered  to  take  sure  aim  at  the  soldier's  heart.  He 


28         LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


was  instantly  killed,  two  bullets  passing  through 
his  heart,  and  the  other  four  very  near  it.  Every 
man  in  the  brigade  was  obliged  to  witness  the  sad 
scene,  and  we  hope  that  the  soldiers  of  no  Chistrian 
nation  will  ever  see  the  like  again. 

In  the  winter  of  1863,  we  went  into  winter 
quarters,  composed  of  tents,  at  Alexandria,  Virgin- 
ia. Our  duty  was  to  guard  the  trains  which  were 
carrying  provisions  to  the  army  at  the  front.  We 
frequently  received  passes  to  go  into  the  city, 
where  we  attended  the  theatre.  Some  of  my  leis- 
ure time  in  this  camp  was  spent  jumping,  my  best 
standing  jump  being  ten  feet  and  four  inches.  In 
March,  1864,  I  was  transferred  from  the  field  music 
to  the  band.  The  ist  day  of  May  our  band  was 
ordered  to  Fort  Independence,  Boston  Harbor,  our 
regimental  headquarters.  At  the  same  time  our 
regiment,  with  the  rest  of  the  army,  started  for  the 
battlefield  of  the  Wilderness.  On  the  5th  of  May, 
brother  William  was  taken  prisoner  and  was  a 
great  sufferer  in  Andersonville  and  Florence  pris- 
ons. On  the  night  of  May  ist,  our  band  was  in- 
vited to  play  at  a  reception  held  by  President  Lin- 
coln, which  we  did,  until  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  when  we  took  the  train  for  Boston.  The 
only  incident  of  note  on  our  journey  was  shortly 
after  leaving  a  small  station  in  York  state,  our  en- 
gine jumped  the  track,  which  delayed  us  two 
hours.     It  was  put  back  on  the  track  by  placing 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE.  29 


sticks  of  wood,  which  were  taken  from  the  tender, 
in  front  of  the  wheeLs,  and  the  steam  appHed,  thus 
drawing  the  engine  upon  the  wood.  After  trying 
many  times,  they  succeeded  in  bringing  the  wheels 
level  with  the  track,  then  taking  iron  bars,  slid 
the  engine  on  to  the  track. 

On  arriving  at  Fort  Independence,  our  duties 
consisted  of  practicing  music  four  hours  per  day, 
and  playing  for  guard  mounting  and  dress  parade. 
The  monotony  of  this  life  was  occasionally  broken 
by  the  band  being  invited  to  play  for  serenades  in 
the  different  cities  adjoining  Boston.  On  one  oc- 
casion we  had  the  honor  of  bemg  invited  by  Gov- 
ernor John  A.  Andrew  to  accompany  him  and  his 
staff  on  the  new  steamboat  "Regulator"  on  her 
maiden  trip  down  the  harbor,  which  was  a  very 
bright  spot  in  our  history.  Some  of  our  leisure 
moments  at  the  Fort  were  spent  in  fishing  for  lob- 
sters with  a  bushel  basket,  and  with  fair  success. 
One  of  the  sad  sights  that  we  were  called  to  wit- 
ness occasionally,  was  when  a  bounty  jumper  would 
be  lashed  hand  and  foot  to  an  artillery  wheel, 
stripped  naked  and  branded  on  the  hip  with  a  red 
hot  iron  letter  "D,"  signifying  deserter.  There 
was  very  great  excitement  in  the  Fort  one  after- 
noon, as  it  was  reported  that  the  Rebel  gunboat, 
Tennessee,  was  coming  up  the  coast.  Our  heavy 
guns  were  put  in  order  for  action,  but  fortunately 
it  was  a  false  alarm. 


30         LIGHTS  AND  SHADES  OF  ARMY  LIFE. 


On  the  morning  of  October  3,  1864,  the  time  of 
my  service  (three  years)  having  expired,  the  adju- 
tant of  the  regiment,  who  made  out  my  discharge, 
saw  fit  to  write,  regarding  my  character,  as  most 
excellent  during  his  term  of  service,  which  affords 
me  great  satisfaction.  At  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon I  took  the  boat  for  Boston,  as  a  citizen.  My 
first  suit  of  clothes — coat,  pants,  vest  and  hat — 
cost  $100.00.  We  returned  home  to  Athol  the 
following  day,  meeting  father,  who  had  spent  two 
years  in  the  army  of  N.  C,  with  all  of  the  other 
members  of  the  family,  with  the  exception  of 
brother  William,  who  was  held  as  prisoner  of  war 
until  the  next  February.    It  was  a  joyful  meeting. 


♦ 


